Throttle control for locomotives or the like



W. F. KROMER Aug. 21, 1945.

' THROTTLE CONTROL FOR LOCOMOTIVES OR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 10, 1944 I i iNVENTOR /////am E/(mmer Aug. 21, 19 5- w. F. KROMER THROTTLE CONTROL FOR LOCOMOTIVES OR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 10', 1944 Patented Aug. 21, 1945 THROTTLE CONTROL FOR LOCOMOTIVES OR THE LIKE William F. Kromer, Sharpsburg, Pa., assignor to H. K. Porter Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 10, 1944, Serial No. 521,797

4 Claims.

This invention relates to control apparatus for a vehicle such as a locomotive having two engines operating propulsion drives independently.

It is customary in constructing locomotives driven by internal-combustion engines, particularly in the larger sizes, to provide a frame with front and rear trucks, and to drive the wheels of the two trucks from separate engines usually placed ahead of and behind the operators cab. Under normal conditions, it is satisfactory to control the two engines as a single unit. Under special conditions, however, as where the wheels of one truck rest on a bad spot in a rail, it is desirable to accelerate one engine to a speed above that of the other in order to apply a greater tractive effort through the truck resting on the sound portion of the rail thereby avoiding excessive slippage of the wheels of the other truck which might occur as a result of their engagement with the bad spot.

I have invented a novel form of control device particularly suited for locomotives having independent drives for the two trucks thereof. In a preferred embodiment, my invention comprises a pair of members disposed coaxially and mounted by virtue of an adjustable connection in the form of an equalizing lever, the shaft being provided with a throttle lever. The equalizing lever permits the engine whose fuel-supply mechanism is controlled by the tube to be set for operation at a speed above or below that of the other engine p when the throttle lever is advanced. The invention is particularly suited for use on electrically driven locomotives in which the internal-combustion engines driv separate generators supplying motors mounted on the two trucks.

Other details, novel features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent during the following complete description which refers to the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment. In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the control apparatus;

Figure 2 is a sectional view therethrough taken along the plane of line II-II of Figure 1, showing parts in elevation;

Figure 3 is a partial section taken axially through the tube and shaft and the throttle and equalizing levers;

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are horizontal sections taken through the apparatus alon the planes of lines IV--IV, V--V and VIVI, respectively;

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic floor plan of a locomotive showing the engines and generators thereof and the relation of the invention thereto.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the control apparatus of my invention indicated generally at I0 is mounted on a supporting standard I I fabricated from plates and including a base l2, side plates l3 and web plate 13a. The apparatus I0 is mounted, as shown in Figure '7, in the operators cab M of a locomotive [5 having internal-combustion engines l6 and I1 driving generators l8 and 19, respectively. Each generator supplies current to the motor (not shown) driving one of the two trucks of the locomotives.

A quadrant plate |3b extends outwardly in a horizontal plane from the web plate l3a near the upper end thereof. A shaft is journaled at its upper end in the plate I31) and at its lower end in a thrust bearing 2| secured to the base l2. A throttle lever 22 is pinnedto the upper end of the shaft 20 and is provided with a detent 23 pivoted on a stud 23a and adapted to enter a notch in the periphery of the quadrant plate I3b, as shown in Figure l. A release linkage for the detent 23 includes a push button 24 in the end of the lever, from which a push rod 25 extends to a crank arm on the detent. A crank disc 26 is secured to the shaft adjacent the lower end thereof and is connected to a Bowden cable 21 extending to the fuel injector of the engine H. A tube 28 surrounds the shaft 20 and extends from near the lower end to a point spaced below the upper end thereof. The tube is conveniently journaled on sleeves 29 and 30 secured to the shaft. A crank disc 3| secured to the lower end of the tube 28 is connected to a Bowden cable 32 extending from the control apparatus 10 to the fuel injector of the engine [6.

[An equalizing lever 33 comprises an arm 34 secured to the upper end of th tube 28 and a crank plate 35 secured to the sleeve 29. A toothed segment 36 is formed at one end of the plate 35. A toothed slide 31 is movable along the arm 34 for meshing engagement with the segment 38. The slide 31 is actuated by a lever 38 pivoted to the arm 34 and a link 39. A spring 40 normally urges the slide 31 into meshing engagement with the segment 36.

It will be apparent that the equalizing lever serves to lock the tube 28 tothe shaft 20 for rotation as a unit. At the same time, the equalizing lever provides means for quickly and easily changing the angular adjustment of the tube 28 relative to the shaft 20. Since the angular re lation of the tube to the shaft determines the relative speeds to which the engines I6 and i1 accelerate on movement of the throttle lever 22, it

same speed. The desired advance or retardation in the speed of the engine 16 relative to that of the engine I! may obtained simply by shifting the arm 34 relative to the plate 35 after disengaging the slide 31 from the segment 36. This adjustment is preferably made while the lever 22 is in idling position, as illustrated in Figure l, but may also be made even after the lever has been advanced from the idling position. In either case, after the equalizing lever has been shifted from neutral position, a constant differential is maintained between the settings of the fuel injectors of the two engines until the equalizing lever is restored to neutral position.

The plate 35 has an arm 42 projecting through a hole 43 in the web plate 13a and slotted as at 44. A lever 45 extends from the crank. arm 46 of an accelerating switch 41 through the opening 43. and is slotted as at 45c. A pivot pin 42a secured to the arm 42 extends through the slots 44 and. 45a so that angular movement of. the plate 35 eflects similar movement of the lever 45. As shown in the drawings, the lever 45 fits on the shaft on which the crankarm 4B is mountedv and is adjustably secured to the latter by a bolt 46a extending through a slot 49 in. the lever.

The switch 41 is of known construction and serves first to connect the generators l8 and It to the truck. motors and then to alter the connections of the generator field circuits to acceler ate the motors. By virtue of the construction described, the switch is advanced as the throttle lever 22 is moved. The adjustment of the equalizing lever does not change the relation between the switch 41 and the throttle lever 22. The net result is that the engine I6 is always accelerated in timed relation to the operation of the switch 41 while the engine I I may be temporarily set by adjustment of the equalizing lever 33 to run faster or slower than the engine IS.

A removable cover 48 secured to the standard ll encloses the switch 41 and the back of the web plate l3'a. A reversing. controller 49 is mounted on the standard ll near the top of the plate l3a. It includes a vertical shaft 50 and an operating lever 51. The shaft 50 extends through the quadrant plate 131) and is provided with a cylindrical segment 52 having a slot 53. The shaft is provided with a cylindrical segment 54 positioned so that its path intersects that of the segment 52. When the lever: 5| is in neutral position, the slot 53 is in alinementwith the path of the segment 54. The segment 52, furthermore; is of such arcuate length that it clears the path of the segment 54 when the lever 5| is shifted to either extreme position for establishing connections for either forward. or reverse movement of the locomotive.

The reversing controller 49 like the switch 41 is of known construction and requires no further detailed description. It will be evident that the interlocking segments 52 and 54 prevent the throttle lever 22 from being advanced unless the lever of the reversing controller is in neutral or one of its extreme positions. Similarly, the arouate length of the segment 54 is suchv that it prevents shifting of the reversing controller at any time except when the lever 22 is in idling position,

at which time the relation of the interlocking segments is as shown in Figure 4.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description and explanation that my invention provides a control device particularly suited for locomotives or the like driven by two independent power plants, which has numerous important advantages. As already explained, the equalizing lever makes it possible to set one engine for operation ,at a speed higher or lower than that of the other,

thereby applying a greater tractive effort through one truck in case the wheels of the other tend to slip by reason of a bad condition of the rail. The adjustment necessary to set up a differential between the speeds of the two engines may be made quickly and easily and does not interfere with the normal operation of the throttle lever or the accelerating switch. In addition, the invention provides interlocking between the throttle lever and reversing controller to prevent improper operation thereof. The invention is of simple construction and the operation thereof does not introduce any additiona1 complications into the usual duties of the locomotive operator beyond the mere adjustment and restoration of the equalizing. lever which may be accomplished in a few seconds.

Although I have illustrated and described buta preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be recognized that changes in the construction or the arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A throttle control for a locomotive or the like having. two independent power plants each including an engine, a generator and a motor, said control comprising a switch for controlling the speed of said motors, a pair of rotatably mounted members each having means connected thereto for controlling the speed of one of said engines, means for adjustably securing said members together for simultaneous rotation in a predetermined angular relation, and means whereby rotation of said members actuates said switch.

2. A throttle control for a locomotive or the like having two independent power plants each including an engine, a generator and a motor, said control comprising a switch for controlling the speed of said motors, a shaft and a tube disposed coaxially and mounted for rotation, means on both the shaft and tube for controlling the speed of one engine, means on the shaft for actuating the switch and means for adj ustably securing the shaft to the tube for rotation therewith in a predetermined angular relation.

3. A throttle control for a locomotive or the like having two independent power plants each including an engine, a generator and a motor, said control comprising a switch for varying the speed of said motors, a manually operable shaft having a member thereon for operating the speed control of one of the engines, said shaft also having means thereon for actuating said switch, a tube rotatable on said shaft and having a member thereon for operating the speed control of the other engine, and means releasably locking the tube to the shaft for rotation therewith in a selected angular relation thereto.

4. The apparatus defined by claim 3 characterized by said last-mentioned means being selectively engageable with said switch-actuating means.

WILLIAM F. KROMER. 

